JERUSALEM: Israel and Chad have renewed diplomatic ties decades after theywere ruptured, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday duringa visit to the African state.
Netanyahu and Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno have “announced therenewal of diplomatic relations between Chad and Israel”, a statement fromthe Israeli premier’s office said.
Ties between Israel and the Muslim majority nation were broken in 1972.
“The two sides view the resumption of relations as the key to futurecooperation for the benefit of both countries,” the statement said.
Netanyahu on Twitter called the announcement “a historic moment”.
The Israeli leader has sought to improve ties with countries in the Araband Muslim world and said he expected more such diplomatic breakthroughssoon.
His one-day visit follows Deby’s November trip to Israel.
The two leaders at the time declined to comment on whether their talks haveincluded arms deals.
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Chadian security sources say the country has acquired Israeli equipment tohelp battle rebels in the country’s north.
Chad is also one of several African states engaged in Western-backedoperations against Boko Haram and Islamic State group militants.
Pressure from Muslim African nations, accentuated by the Arab-Israeli warsof 1967 and 1973, led a number of African states to sever relations withthe Jewish state.
But in recent years, Israel has held out the prospect of cooperation infields ranging from security to technology to agriculture, to improve tieson the continent.
Deby is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.
He took over the arid, impoverished nation in 1990 and won a disputed fifthterm in April 2016 to lead the country of some 15 million people. -APP/AFP
